“The new materialism” is the curious term used in the writings of Alice Bailey to describe the potential of the spiritual forces most prominent at this time of year in the annual cycle of energy-flow, the higher interlude of the three spiritual Festivals. So powerful is the materialism which has led to the global financial crisis of the past year, and so shocking are the materialistic values which the crisis has revealed, that it is difficult to imagine how a “new materialism” could possibly be spiritual. Yet so it is. The depths of human selfishness in the handling of money, the densest aspect of material substance, have been brought to recognition for everyone to see. In spite of the damage done to the world’s economy, and without denying the hardship which this crisis has caused for many, nevertheless it has the potential to bring about a transformation of human values. If the crisis can ignite not only the willingness but the need to share on the part of all people of goodwill, then something of enduring spiritual value will have been achieved.The spiritual energies now pouring into the planet make this a real possibility, for the bringing of pure spirit into contact with material substance is the unique task of the seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order. This will be the governing ray of the incoming age and therefore a potent spiritual energy acting in conformity with the divine Plan for the coming cycle. The past 2000 years of conditioning by the sixth Ray of Devotion and Idealism have endowed humanity with a legacy of spiritual aspiration which has fostered a belief that spirituality is found apart from the outer world, by disengaging one’s attention from the realm of the tangible and reorienting it to the abstract levels of the inner realms. As the writings of Alice Bailey point out, “It is this failure to work intelligently, and I would like to add, lovingly with substance and so bring it into right relation with the dense outer form that has made the last two thousand years produce so disastrously a mismanaged world and which has brought the population of the planet into its present serious condition.”The outcome of this failure is a separation of the physical plane from the spiritual, leading to a cleavage which can be likened to that of a “split personality." The schism thus created is perhaps most visible in the mutual antagonism demonstrated by certain quarters within the fields of science and religion. In some religious realms there is an effort to silence or at least curtail a serious scientific study of evolution, while from certain scientific quarters periodic attacks are launched on religious belief with little appreciation for the subjective realm and the beauty of faith, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”Perhaps the loudness of the voices coming from the far corners of both the scientific and religious fields is simply verification that a climax is being reached in their long and mutual antipathy. Viewed in terms of energy, conflict generates light and eventual emergence into right control of forces. Thus, when conflict is seen as a spiritual instrument, it can bring about emergence from wrong controls, selfish desires, and misguided principles. As the issues become increasingly clear to human minds and the weight of public opinion gains sufficient momentum, the duality of opposites can shift to equilibrium, and balance can be restored.

The process of release begins with bringing the issues before the eyes of men so that people can see clearly and choose correctly. This is the task of the new age workers, Alice Bailey said: “to bring the two apparent opposites of spirit and matter together, to demonstrate that they are not antagonistic to each other and to demonstrate that throughout the universe there is only spiritual substance, working on and producing the outer tangible forms”. This year, which begins a cycle of Emergence/Impact on Public Consciousness, offers a significant opportunity to mobilise public consciousness to a recognition of the spiritual values which underlie “the new materialism” and which will demonstrate as the great spiritual “Principle of Sharing” in human relationships from the inter-personal to the planetary level. This is not an idle dream but an actual possibility, Alice Bailey wrote, if we keep in mind that there will still be selfish people, but “certain fundamental ideals will motivate business, being forced upon business by public opinion.” With the incoming seventh ray steadily gaining power, there is a growing realisation of the divinity that exists within the visible, tangible world and permeates the human, animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms. Growing numbers of human beings are recognising that the way they handle the material substance in their possession is a spiritual responsibility and a gauge of their spiritual understanding. This, too, is an expression of the incoming seventh ray—“the great impulse which will bring into the light of day all that is to be found clothed with matter”, leading eventually to the revelation of spirit and of the hidden glory. And thus the stage we live in today, when “all things are being shouted from the housetops”, as Christ foretold, and all hidden things are being made plain. The esoteric view of life offers a perspective sorely needed in these tumultuous times, not only for the hope that it evokes but for the sustaining power of the will-to-good during a time of transition. The widest possible distribution of the Great Invocation, that “supreme mantram of integration”, is the most potent instrument for Light and Love and the Power of the Will-to-Good to make impact on public consciousness. The enclosed order form, as well as our website (www.lucistrust.org) offer a variety of formats by which the Great Invocation can be distributed to your contacts, as well as other materials related to the three major Festivals of Easter, Wesak and Goodwill. The dates of the meetings in the three headquarters centres, as well as the annual Arcane School conference, are as follows:Easter Festival – March 29Wesak Festival – April 27Arcane School Conference in New York – May 1-2Arcane School Conference in Geneva – May 22-23Goodwill Festival – May 27 (the Christ’s Festival, also observed as World Invocation Day)Arcane School Conference in London – May 29-30The keynote of the conference will be: Let sustained effort be the seed of synthesis, the force which binds together that which has been separated. You and your friends are warmly invited to attend.We delight in hearing about your plans for the Festivals and we want to thank all of you who have helped to sustain the work of the Lucis Trust financially during a period of economic turmoil.